jdl51

Is the U.S. Dollar Headed for a Mighty Crash? Part II

"Everyday I spent alot of mind energy in an attempt to "obama proof" my portfolio and protect it from the disaster in the the making."

If we had all spent a lot of time Republicanizing our portfolios the past couple of years, we would be in great shape. The "disaster in the making" has been in the making for eight years now and we are bearing the fruits. Our problems didn't start on January 20, for those of you with selective memory. Bush's last budget that he submitted had a projected deficit of $1.2 trillion and, of course, with Iraq and Afghanistan off budget not included in that figure. But somehow Obama is ruining the economy even though his first budget won't take effect until next year.

As far as the commodity crisis now being touted everywhere, oil production by OPEC, Russia, etc. has been cut back. Oil inventories are close to all time highs, both in storage tanks and tankers at anchor. Gas prices are rising now because refiners are cutting back production and manipulating the market, as usual this time of year. POT just announced that they have cut back production due to lack of demand. Factory utilization worldwide is at the low end of the spectrum, which would depress steel, etc. Japan's economy shrank 15% last quarter. Just because China is stockpiling doesn't mean that there is a rise in demand by consumers. Demand creates inflation. No demand, no pricing power. The U.S. is 28% of the world economy. The EU and UK are in recession at least as bad as our. With that large a percentage of consumers on the ropes, higher prices are not the problem at this point in time. Talk to me in a year or two and things might be different.